Craig K. Comstock | Energy should cost more, dammit!

Let’s be clear: if energy were to cost more, then consumers will either use less or become more efficient at using it, or have less money to buy other things (or some combination).

We can’t wait for politicians to act. They are terrified to impose costs for which voters can blame them, unlike the enormous costs of price inflation that seems to be nobody’s fault, or unlike costs that are "traditional," such as subsidies. We can’t expect the suppliers of fossil fuels to act on behalf of the community; they are in business to make a profit, and like tobacco firms before them, will use their cash flow to spread disinformation to defend their economic interests, as in promoting a fantasy called "clean coal."

We need to pay more for energy. It’s that simple. Why? We’ve discovered that the fossil fuels that built our civilization emit gases that are dangerous. It would be nice if this weren’t true, nice if we could safely use all of even most of the reserves already known. But we can’t.